The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for testing plumbing installations and more particularly to a tool for making an opening through a test cap or other blockage in a fluid-carrying line of a plumbing system and to an improved method for testing a plumbing installation wherein the tool and cap make the testing method possible.
In residential house construction and as is well known, the plumbing is basically installed in three stages, namely, the rough-in plumbing, top-out plumbing and finish plumbing. The rough-in plumbing occurs prior to pouring of concrete. Top-out plumbing follows framing the building and involves installing the pipes in the walls and vent pipes that extend up through the roof of the structure. Finish plumbing relates to setting toilets, sinks, and the like.
The rough plumbing includes laying a drain or waste pipe which leads from building to the city sewer main normally in the access street or road adjacent to the building. It is, thus, common practice to insert a clean-out in the drain pipe between the pipes in the building and the section of the drain pipe that leads to the sewer line. This clean-out may be located in a basement or, in a building without a basement, outside the building and underground. If underground, the clean-out has a branch extending to the surface of the ground for providing access to the drain pipe both during construction and during use of the building.
As is well known, in order to pass the rigid inspection normally imposed by building codes, it is necessary to test the drainage part of the plumbing system after the rough-in and top-out stages are finished. For this purpose, common procedures and devices are in use. The devices include test caps and inflatable test plugs, so-called water-weenies. In use, the test caps are sealed at the ends of all open and exposed branch pipes, and the inflatable test plugs are used in the clean-out where the passageway plugged is not as accessible. After the tests, the exposed test caps are punched out with a hammer, and the inflatable plugs are deflated and pulled out of the clean-out. Thus, the test plugs and the inflatable plugs can be removed without disassembling and disturbing the tested system.
As indicated, the test caps in above-ground, accessible locations are usually knocked out with a hammer, whereupon the fragments are pried out with a screwdriver or pliers. If a test cap were sealed in a clean-out, however, whether the clean-out is relatively accessible in a basement or whether it is underground, it cannot be punched out with a hammer and screwdriver without disassembling part of the system and thereby disturbing the tested system. Thus, test caps have not been used to block the test pressure in the drain pipe.
Instead, during the rough-in plumbing stage, the inflatable weenie-shaped, test plugs have been inserted in the clean-out, used for the tests, and subsequently removed with a pull chain attached to the plug and extending out of the clean-out. More specifically, to test the rough-in plumbing, the plug is inserted and inflated thereby sealing the drain pipe. The plumbing on the building side of the plug is then pressurized to check for leaks. After the top-out phase is completed, the plumbing is again tested by again inflating the plug, and pressurizing the system, usually by feeding water into the system through the vent pipes in the roof.
Use of such inflatable weenie plugs for the described testing has proved unsatisfactory for several reasons. The essential problem is that the plugs often leak although the plumbing may be entirely sound. Either the plug does not seal perfectly circumferentially within the pipe or the plug is punctured as it is being slid in or out of the clean-out and against the rough surfaces thereof. As a result, the test fails, not because of faulty plumbing, but because of a faulty plug. The plumbing crew will then need to be called back to the job to attend to the problem, causing aggravation and extra expense to the contractors and owners involved. Not only is there extra labor cost involved, but the failed inflatable test plugs must be replaced at considerable expense.
A method and apparatus for testing plumbing installations is provided including a tool for making an opening through a test cap or other blockage in a fluid-carrying line of a plumbing system. The tool and cap make the testing method possible. During the rough-in plumbing phase of construction, a test cap welded in the drain pipe seals the drain line from the sewer line at the location of the clean-out. Thereafter, the rough-in plumbing system is tested by pressurizing the system through the clean-out on the building side of the cap. Following successful completion of this test, the top-out plumbing is completed, leaving the test cap welded in place. After the roof vents are in, the top-out test of the plumbing system is made, also through the clean-out. After final test and inspection, a special tool constructed in accordance with the present invention is inserted down the clean-out to penetrate and ream-out the test cap. The test cap used is specially constructed to facilitate use of the tool, and the tool has an operating head especially adapted to access the test cap and to penetrate and ream an opening through the cap. Thereafter, the tool including the head is readily withdrawn from the clean-out. Moreover, the tool is easily lengthened or shortened to suit particular applications and users. The tool may also be useful in opening a passage through other blockages in a fluid-carrying line.
An object of this invention is to be able to open a passage through a test cap or other blockage in a fluid-carrying line.
Another object is to provide a tool that can be extended into a clean-out and can penetrate through and ream out a test cap or other blockage that is secured or stuck in a fluid-tight manner in a drain pipe to which the clean-out is connected.
Still another object is to be able from a remote position to maneuver and guide the operating head of a tool inside a clean-out and into a position therein to penetrate and ream out a test cap welded in the clean-out or other blockage in the line.
An additional object is to be able to do the rough-in and final pressure tests of a plumbing system in a building under construction through a clean-out instead of through a roof vent or other internal pipe of the building.
A further object is to provide a tool for penetrating and reaming an opening through a test cap or other blockage in a drain line wherein the tool is adapted to flex more easily around corners or other transitions between a clean-out and the drain line and thereby make an opening through the test cap or other blockage.
An additional object is to provide a test cap for blocking a drain line that can be more easily removed by a tool especially adapted to penetrate and ream out the cap through a clean-out.
Another object is to provide an operating head on a plumbing tool that is especially adapted to penetrate through and ream out an opening through a test cap in a drain line.
Yet another object is to provide a test cap- or other blockage-removing tool that can be adjusted in length depending on the distance between the test cap-to-be-removed and the location of the operator of the tool.
A further object to provide a test cap-removing tool that cooperates with a clean-out to leverage the operating head into an operating position and then allows the operating head to penetrate and ream through the test cap or other blockage.
A still further object is to enable a test plug or other blockage that has been welded or otherwise fixed in fluid-tight relation in a drain pipe to be removed so that nearly the full diameter of the drain pipe is available for conducting material therethrough after the plug or other blockage has been removed.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.